Whilst there is a vast literature on the importance of citizen voice and accountability in governance and development, there remain relatively few evaluations of the impact of donor programmes in this area. Several studies conclude there is a need for more evidence of why certain accountability mechanisms work well in certain contexts. There does not appear to be any research ...» more
Child Marriage
This short report summarises some of the main evidence presented in recent literature about the prevalence, trends and impact of child marriage (defined by UNICEF as customary or statutory union where one or both of the partners is under the age of 18). It is based on a 2-day survey of prominent (widely-cited) literature published by credible institutions. It does not ...» more
Deteriorating Governance
The literature on the causes and forms of deteriorating governance is in its infancy, and draws heavily from the broader and more established literature on the causes of forms of fragility. Some of the prominent themes on the causes of deteriorating governance are: Common pathways to deterioration are escalation of communal conflict, state predation, regional or guerilla ...» more
Political Economy of Sub-National Government
Of the limited recent literature that considers the political economy of sub-national (state and provincial) government, the case of Afghanistan is prominent. International support to sub-national governance in Afghanistan has been relatively well documented, with much of the literature emphasising that reform efforts have often neglected to account for the political economy of ...» more
Social Movements and Poverty Reduction
There is limited research available on the role of social movements in development processes. It is widely acknowledged that establishing a causal relationship between social movements and any observed change in societies is problematic. In particular, attribution is difficult because there are usually multiple variables involved in any process of social change, including other ...» more
Donor Activities Supporting Women in Elected Political Spaces
Donors mainly engage in the following types of activities to promote women‘s participation in electoral politics:Training women already in or aspiring towards leadership rolesStrengthening the capacity of women‘s groups to monitor government commitments on gender equality and women’s empowermentUsing the media to disseminate information and change attitudesSupporting networks ...» more
Donor Support to Non-state Providers of Security and Justice
The following recommendations on on donor support to non-state providers of security and justice services in fragile and conflict-affected states are made in the literature: There is a need for a ‘pragmatic realism’ approach, meaning that in addition to supporting state institutions, donors proportion a significant percentage of assistance, in the short- to intermediate-term, ...» more
Evaluations of Donors’ Peace-building and Conflict Policies
There is little information available online about the process or findings of reviews of donor policies on peace, conflict or peace-building. The vast majority of evaluation reports that are available in this area are at the level of programme or project evaluation, rather than overall policy-level or thematic evaluation. Few materials are available online that have explicitly ...» more
Experience of Compacts
International Compacts are mutual agreements between the international community and national governments that set out a framework of shared responsibilities, commitments and benchmarks against which both donors and government can be held to account. The term ‘compact’ has recently gained in prominence through the high-profile compacts developed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They ...» more
Cross-party Caucuses
Caucuses are widely believed to be important forums for bringing parliamentarians together across political party lines – so that they may share information, discuss policy issues, channel common interests and concerns, and engage civil society. Some women’s caucuses have been noted for their unique approach towards fostering good governance. In some conflict contexts, caucuses ...» more
Voice and Accountability Indexes
Because ‘voice and accountability’ is a broad term comprising several areas of donor intervention - including civic education, rights awareness, empowerment, democracy promotion and support to civil society and the media - the literature on tools and indicators for measuring the impact of development interventions on voice and accountability is highly fragmented. With the ...» more
Lessons Learned on Parliamentary Strengthening
Several agencies have recently conducted stocktakes, retrospectives or reviews of their parliamentary strengthening programmes at agency-level. By far the most common lesson/recommendation relates to the necessity of understanding and adapting to the political context within which parliament is situated and undertaking good political analysis in the planning phase. Several ...» more
Lessons Learned on Cooperatives
Cooperatives can help overcome some of the barriers to poor people’s access to markets by generating economies of scale; opening up access to information through better market networks; pooling resources and improving individual bargaining power through collective action. They promote social as well as economic goals, have been used to educate local citizens about health ...» more
Reviews of Decentralisation and Subnational Government Support Programmes
DFID, the World Bank and GTZ have recently undertaken multi-country reviews of their support to decentralisation and sub-national governance. The EU has also produced a set of guidelines based on its experience. A great number of country-level evaluations are now available online, the majority of which conclude with lessons learned and recommendations. Recommendations vary ...» more
Decentralisation and Assistance to Sub-national Governments in Fragile Environments
There is considerable disagreement about whether and how decentralisation should be pursued in fragile or post-conflict environments. Many argue that strengthening sub-national governance in fragile situations is vital, particularly for delivering basic services where the state is weak or absent, for addressing ethnic/regional inequalities, and for conflict management. The ...» more
Prevalence as an Indicator for Anti-forced labour and Anti-sex Trafficking Projects
Prevalence does not seem to be currently used to measure the impact of anti-forced labour, anti-sex trafficking or other anti-slavery projects, although there is no evidence to suggest that it is not a suitable indicator. Instead, the following types of indicators have been used or suggested by experts for measuring the impact of justice interventions: changes in knowledge or ...» more
Multi-donor Funding for Elections in Fragile States
Basket funds have to date often been administered by UNDP, as was the case in Congo, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Togo. The main activities they have supported have been: technical assistance to the Electoral Management Body (EMB), voter registration, voter education, election monitoring, and support for civil society. Basket funds usually operate with a two-tiered ...» more
Long-term Economic Planning
There are no empirical studies on the relationship between planning and economic growth. Country growth diagnostics focus on the substance of economic policy. They rarely discuss the policymaking process, let alone the timeframe over which economies are planned, as a factor in determining the success or failure of economic reforms. Botswana, Ireland and South Korea are among ...» more
Information Campaigns and Migration
Information campaigns aim to provide would-be migrants with information about the potential risks associated with illegal migration in order to raise their awareness and ultimately (although not always explicitly) deter them from migrating through irregular channels. These campaigns have largely, but not exclusively, taken place within the framework of counter-trafficking ...» more
Social exclusion in Bangladesh
A large portion of the existing research on social exclusion in Bangladesh focuses on women (this is dealt with in a separate GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report on ‘Gender Inequality in Bangladesh’). Much of the remaining research focuses on ethnic minorities (indigenous peoples), who are concentrated in rural areas and variably excluded from social, political, and economic arenas. ...» more
